Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review, via Library Thing.

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The year is 1305. William Wallace’s rebellion against English rule of Scotland seems shattered by his death, but Robert Bruce is gathering the clans again, determined to reunite his country under Scots rule. A young man orphaned and disinherited by the earlier rebellion, comes to Bruce’s side and eventually rises to be Robert’s right-hand man. His name is James Douglas, an historical character whom author Sarah Shuff has made the hero of this adventure.

Juxtaposed against a factual history of Bruce’s fight over the next 15 years is the imagined story of James Douglas and the fictional Elinor Dickson, the woman he loved but could not wed. There’s plenty of swordplay here, and betrayals both on the battlefield and off, as James and Elinor are swept apart by forces beyond their control, and strive to maintain their own honor and master their own destinies against the backdrop of a long and bloody fight for Scottish independence.

There’s a good, strong story at the core here, but it’s not without fault. Elinor’s suffering is at times over the top – can’t this poor girl ever catch a break? – but the biggest problem is that the whole thing needs one more heavy-duty edit. Shuff apparently can’t tell the difference between a compound sentence and a run-on, and seems to have never been introduced to a semicolon. This stylistic quirk quickly rises from minor to major annoyance due largely to its prevalence throughout the manuscript. There are a couple of places where the tense inexplicably slips from past tense to present for no discernible reason. On more than one occasion, the word “vice” is used where “vise” is intended, and there are some clumsy misplaced phrases that yank the reader out of the story to try to figure out exactly what it is that the author meant to say. These are entirely curable bumps. Less easily managed is the historically accurate but extremely confusing Scots tendency to recycle given names. Everyone seems to be related to everyone else, and there are multiple Archibalds, Elizabeths, Isabels, Williams, Roberts, and Edwards, each of whom is a cousin, grandchild, spouse, or parent to someone else of the same name, who may or may not be on the same side of the rebellion at any given moment. Shuff does provide a character list, but in e-format, it’s cumbersome to flip back and forth from the text to the cast of characters.

There’s also a minor confusion with the titling which could unnecessarily throw off some potential readers. The Amazon cover image for this book shows it as “Book One”. Readers who wish to avoid the Saga Syndrome might be led away from this under false pretenses. ‘Heart of Black’ is the complete story, consisting of five “books” (or sections) within the single volume.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction set in the “Braveheart” era will find a lot to like here, but will have to accept a certain number of lumps in the porridge. ( )